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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23832754">The Bifrost Incident Job</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumducky/pseuds/quantumducky'>quantumducky</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Bifrost Incident - The Mechanisms (Album), The Mechanisms (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion, Enemies to Friends, F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, it's more of a genre swap than anything, to be clear this isn't a crossover</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 06:13:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23832754</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/quantumducky/pseuds/quantumducky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leverage-inspired AU in which Thor has been working with Sigyn from the beginning, plotting to have Odin out of power for good by the time the train arrives at its destination. Things get a little more complicated when they find out about Loki. Things get a LOT more complicated when they find out about what's in the engine room. The good news is that Sigyn came equipped with a plan B and then some... the bad news is, none of them happen to include contingencies for eldritch horrors.</p>
<p>In other words: let's go steal the Bifrost.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loki &amp; Thor (The Bifrost Incident), Loki/Sigyn (The Bifrost Incident), Thor &amp; Sigyn (The Bifrost Incident)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Wow, AO3 user quantumducky, how come your brain lets you have TWO simultaneous hyperfixations??</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The maiden voyage of the Ratatosk Express was just weeks away, and as far as Odin knew, everything was progressing smoothly, exactly according to plan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Odin didn’t know everything, though, much as she tried to make it appear so. She didn’t know, for example, about Thor’s recent uncharacteristic decision to dabble in espionage, entering government buildings after hours to go through her files in search of blackmail material. Increasingly critical of her rule and tired of waiting for her to step down on her own- or, more likely, die- he had decided to take matters into his own hands. She had anticipated this, or at least, expected that </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> would try it at some point. She just hadn’t anticipated him being able to </span>
  <em>
    <span>find</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But find something he did. Not enough to hold over her… not on its own, at least. Just enough to suggest that there was something fishy about the train. Enough to make Thor believe that, if the Ratatosk Express completed its first journey from Asgard to Midgard as planned, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> would ever be enough to remove Odin from power. Enough to make him decide he needed to stop it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even if Odin </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> known about this, it wouldn’t have worried her much. Thor could be dangerous, but he wasn’t much of a planner; if he caused any trouble on the train, she could have him dealt with. At the most, she might have increased security, just in case. Unfortunately for Odin, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t know what Thor did next- when he, too, realized that he didn’t have the skills to effectively act on what he’d learned by himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>See, Thor may not have been much of a planner, but he still had enough intelligence to admit when he needed help, and to find someone who could provide it- someone who would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than happy for a chance to finally bring down Odin. And, crucially, he had enough strings at his disposal for the pulling to be able to </span>
  <em>
    <span>contact</span>
  </em>
  <span> that someone, however difficult she made herself to find.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He made damn </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Odin didn’t know about the meeting he had, just a few days later, with Sigyn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The resistance leader was wary of his proposal at first, and understandably so. Thor was next in line to rule, while Sigyn and her people wanted the Asgardian government destroyed. There was no question that they’d be at each other’s throats the second Odin was out of the way. On the other hand… what better choice did she have? One way or another, the resistance couldn’t let that train get where it was going unimpeded, and having Thor on their side opened up more new possibilities than she had time to count. At least for now, the enemy of her enemy would be her friend. The two shook hands and agreed on a time to meet again and figure out the details, and Thor left. Sigyn had three potential plans laid out in her head before he was fully out of the room. After a few more meetings and a lot of arguing, she even managed to come up with one they could both agree on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Now, it’s the day of the train’s launch. Thor will be on it, of course; thanks to his influence and some neatly forged paperwork, so will Sigyn and a handful of her people. Judging by the strange, rambling quality of the speech Odin gives, pulling off their plan will hardly be any work at all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Outright assassination had been ruled out early: in an investigation, the two of them with their clear motives would be the first suspects anyone looked at, and it would come down to who could push the blame onto the other first. Instead, they’re going for something a little subtler: killing Odin’s reputation, and making it look like PR suicide. A quiet and, most importantly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>unprovable</span>
  </em>
  <span> three-day campaign of psychological warfare, culminating in a paranoid breakdown caught on the train’s cameras, should be enough to end even the Allmother’s political career. The first step begins now, as Thor mingles with the crowd during Odin’s speech, dressed down and wearing glasses to make himself less immediately recognizable. It wouldn’t do to have someone who knows him try to start up a conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The event is underway, and Thor sidles up behind a couple of his fellow passengers. “I’m not so sure about this,” he grumbles, as if to someone else next to him. “From what I hear, the train isn’t as safe as she claims.” The people around him start to turn, maybe to ask what </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> it is he heard, but he disappears back into the crowd before any of them can see his face. He hears the worried murmuring start up in his wake, and smiles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor makes short work of the audience’s mood, dropping hints in just the right places so that the ripple effect of </span>
  <em>
    <span>did-you-hear-that</span>
  </em>
  <span> takes care of the rest. The rumors wouldn’t work if everyone weren’t already secretly thinking them, but of course they are. No one in their right mind would be perfectly at ease boarding a vehicle that’s never carried passengers before, and Odin’s speech isn’t exactly reassuring. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Inspiring,</span>
  </em>
  <span> sure, if you’re willing to believe what she says about scientific progress and all that- but not a single mention made of safety testing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Odin finishes speaking, and the crowd applauds with more nervousness than enthusiasm. Success.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Step one complete,” Thor says quietly. No one around him hears, but the earbud Sigyn gave him picks it up just fine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” she replies. “Everything’s fine on our end. We don’t want to push too hard, so just get on the train as normal and I’ll tell you when it’s time for step two.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nods, then remembers she can’t hear him and says, “Fine.” He doesn’t exactly love taking order from anyone, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t love taking them from someone who’s usually one of his worst enemies. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the woman with the plan, though, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one who approached her for help, so he’s resigned himself to put up with it for as long as it’s necessary.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sheds his semi-disguise and rejoins his fellow passengers as himself. No one will notice or care that his enthusiasm isn’t very genuine when they’re all more concerned with hiding the fact that theirs isn’t, either. As if the entire nobility isn’t telling about ten different lies of varying degrees of importance twenty-four-fucking-seven anyway, which everyone knows about and no one will ever acknowledge. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Politics.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Thor really can’t stand it sometimes, not that his distaste will stop him from using it to his advantage all he can. It’s almost funny how afraid all these people are of letting him overhear them discussing rumors he started himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> funny that none of these people- some of whom he considers something like friends- realized who he was earlier, when all he did was change clothes, switch up his hairstyle and put some glasses on. Mostly it’s funny to Sigyn. She keeps offering amused compliments on Thor’s ability to blend in while he forces himself through polite conversation with people who have clearly never paid a bit of attention to any face other than their own. Sure, face-blindness is a thing, but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>refuses</span>
  </em>
  <span> to believe it’s a condition shared by every single one of his acquaintances. If causing a scene weren’t likely to ruin the entire plan, he would be having some words with these people. As it is, he quietly reminds himself </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> to trust them with anything too important once he’s the one in charge.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i should not be updating this as quickly as i am and by that i mean i have an assignment due tonight and i wrote this chapter instead of working on it. wish me luck with the like 5 hours i'm gonna have to actually do this thing i was supposed to be working on all week</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Boarding the train at last comes as something of a relief. There’s a private suite reserved for Thor, as one of the top-ranking members of the government. He’s not fool enough to believe the word “private” means he can safely assume he isn’t being watched there, but at least it gives him somewhere to sit down and collect himself without the press of social demands.</p>
<p>“Sit on the bed facing the wall,” Sigyn instructs him, “and pretend you’re turning away from the light because you’ve got a headache. Surveillance equipment won’t pick you up as long as you keep your voice down.”</p>
<p>He doesn’t obey her immediately. For a few minutes, he stands at the window, watching the train pick up speed and the landscape outside the window blur into a cacophony of bright rainbow colors. By the time he stumbles over to the bed, <em> pretending </em> to have a headache isn’t exactly necessary. He could “pretend” to be incredibly motion-sick, too, should the necessity arise.</p>
<p>“If you’re done watching the lightshow, we <em> are </em> on a schedule here.”</p>
<p>Thor mutters something not quite comprehensible enough to be classed as an insult and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Yes, ma’am,” he says sarcastically, although it’s difficult to convey as much bite as he wants at a volume barely above a whisper. “What now? Time to go talk to Odin?”</p>
<p>“Not just yet. I want you to mingle with the other passengers a little more. They weren’t saying much to you before, right? Telling her what you’ve been hearing will come across a lot more believable if you’ve <em> actually </em> heard it.”</p>
<p>“Sure.” This part of the plan is simple enough: position himself as the one person Odin can still be certain is on her side, get her to trust him. Among other things, the easiest way to ensure he’ll be aware of what she’s thinking is by making her want to tell him.</p>
<p>“Also, it will look strange if you spend too much time hiding away in your compartment. Don’t want to draw attention… not yet, at least.”</p>
<p>“Right. I’m going, already.” Thankfully, the effects of watching the Bifrost have mostly faded away in the time it took to have that conversation. Thor makes a slight show of being relieved that his headache is gone, stands up from the bed, and leaves in search of people to pretend he wants to socialize with.</p>
<p>It’s dreadful, really. If being in an enclosed space with a bunch of self-absorbed upper-class pricks weren’t bad enough, now they’re all <em> nervous, </em> too. The fact that Thor caused this himself, on purpose, doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to put up with. On the upside, there’s alcohol available; on the downside, all the serving staff are with Sigyn, and she’s apparently warned them not to let him have any. <em> Apparently, </em> he needs a clear head if he wants to pull everything off smoothly, or whatever. Personally, Thor believes many of his best moments were achieved while drunk, but no one is listening to him. At least he gets what he came for. Everyone else <em> is </em> partaking of the alcohol, and it’s made their tongues a fair bit looser. He’s amused to hear the various permutations the rumors he started have gone through in the few hours since the seeds were planted. It seems some people have become convinced Odin is planning to <em> blow up </em> the train with explosives hidden in the engine room, killing everyone on board- or at least think it’s exciting to say so. The jury is still out on how she would then avoid dying herself.</p>
<p>“Where did you hear that?” he asks the first person to confide anything to him directly. They’re not sure, and he doesn’t <em> expect </em> them to have any idea- if they did, it would mean either bad things for him or that they were lying. Still, he asks, makes a show of trying to find the source of the whispers making the rounds of the train, because it’s what he would do in any similar situation he <em> hadn’t </em> engineered himself.</p>
<p>Everyone he interrogates assures him they don’t truly <em> believe </em> what they heard, of course not. Sigyn, though, approving in his ear, assures him that his apparent determination to squash the rumors has only added fuel to the fire of every conspiracy theory currently being born. When it becomes clear that no one has the answers he’s looking for- and when they’re all suitably aware that he <em> is </em> looking- he strides out of the dining compartment with purpose and heads for Odin’s cabin.</p>
<p>He uses his best manners to knock and announce himself at the door, but it turns out he needn’t have bothered. Odin doesn’t pay him enough attention to notice, let alone care.</p>
<p>“Come in,” she calls distractedly. “What do you want?”</p>
<p>This isn’t exactly the reception Thor hoped for, but he’ll have to work with it. Odin doesn’t move from her place in front of the massive curved window of her observation deck, doesn’t even turn around. When it’s clear she isn’t going to, he approaches and stands next to her- at a respectful distance, of course. He tries not to look too hard at the swirling colors outside.</p>
<p>He clears his throat and keeps his voice down, as though worried the guards at the door will overhear. “I don’t mean to waste your time, but I’ve been hearing some concerning rumors spread among the other passengers, and I thought you should know.”</p>
<p>Her expression doesn’t change, and he can only hope she’s actually listening. “Go on.”</p>
<p>“They’re saying the train isn’t safe, that you’re lying about how reliable it is.” He sees Odin’s mouth twitch in something like amusement. “I know it’s absurd, after all the tests it’s gone through.”</p>
<p>“If you know it’s absurd,” she says impatiently, “why are you bothering to tell me about it?”</p>
<p>Thor tamps down his own annoyance. “What <em> concerns </em> me is how readily these people will believe that your word is not to be trusted. It shows a serious lack of confidence in you as a leader, and I think we should look into where that’s coming from.” He waits a second, but Odin doesn’t seem all that eager to agree. “I mean, you should hear some of the things people are saying.”</p>
<p>“Mm.” She just keeps looking out that damn window. Clearly waiting for him to give up on holding her attention and leave. It’s… well, it isn’t <em> like </em> her to be so uncaring about anything pertaining to the public’s opinion of her. Her image is carefully crafted, and anything that threatens to tarnish it- especially at such an important time- should have her ready to panic.</p>
<p>Still hopeful that she just hasn’t quite understood what he’s telling her, he relays a few of the wilder things he’s heard, but none of them seem to faze her at all. He’s almost ready to give up, leave the room and tell Sigyn they need to move on to plan B, when he throws out, “And there are rumors of sabotage in the engine room.”</p>
<p>Odin stiffens and fucking <em> finally </em> turns to look at him. “Do you have <em> any </em> idea where these rumors are coming from?”</p>
<p>“I don’t. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Sigyn snaps at him about tone over the comms, and he smooths his voice out as well as he can. “I want to help sort this out, but I need your approval to-”</p>
<p>“If you must keep talking, do it while accompanying me to the other end of the train.” She’s already rushing out of the room without waiting for an answer. “No one else should even be able to get <em> in </em> there,” she mutters to herself.</p>
<p>Thor replays what just happened in his head while hurrying after her until he figures out what exactly is going on. …Well. He didn’t <em> intend </em> to give her the impression that she should be worried about someone <em> else </em> sabotaging the engine, but Sigyn sounds pleased, so it must be working out in their favor anyway.</p>
<p>“If she’s checking the engine room, she’ll need the master key to open the door. I want you to watch and tell me where she puts it afterward,” she instructs. Thor makes the most surreptitious hum of assent he can while walking right next to Odin.</p>
<p>Oh, wait. Odin isn’t paying attention to <em> him, </em> any more than she was paying attention to the five people she’s nearly bowled over so far. He turns away slightly and whispers, “Have you got everyone in position?”</p>
<p>“Not yet, but we should be ready by the time you’re coming back. Might need you to stall her a minute, pretend you’re interested in how the train runs or something.”</p>
<p>“Can do.”</p>
<p>“Good.”</p>
<p>When they reach the engine room, Odin is acting… weird. She makes Thor stand way back while she opens the door and peeks inside, deflating in relief when everything is still as she expects. “What the hell,” he mutters out of her hearing, and Sigyn doesn’t have any answers for him.</p>
<p>“Maybe she doesn’t trust <em> you, </em> either.”</p>
<p>Which is not ideal, given that Odin trusting him is the lynchpin of this entire operation, but there isn’t much he can do about it.</p>
<p>“What was that about?” he tries asking, remembering Sigyn’s request to stall before heading back. “May I ask what’s so secret about the engine that I’m not allowed to look at it?”</p>
<p>Odin gives him a long look. “It’s important. You don’t need to know any more than that.”</p>
<p>She starts walking back to her cabin, having been stalled for all of ten seconds. Still, Thor knows what pocket her key card is in now, and relays the information to Sigyn under his breath. The rest of the strangeness… well, Odin is under a lot of stress right now, right? They want her to be. It’s kind of the point.</p>
<p>The first time she reacts as expected to anything all day is when they pass back through the dining car. Sigyn makes deliberate eye contact before disappearing into the kitchen, and Odin stops. “What is <em> she </em> doing here?” she demands, and Thor does his best impression of someone who has no idea what she’s talking about.</p>
<p>“Who?” He looks around the room as if there’s nothing to see, <em> especially </em> not Sigyn returning to the room and sidling up to pickpocket her.</p>
<p>Odin pulls him closer. <em> “Sigyn. </em> I don’t know how you missed it, but if <em> she’s </em> here-”</p>
<p>In the time it takes Thor to put on a serious, worried frown and nod through her quiet ranting of exactly how bad this could be, Sigyn scans the key card through a small device strapped to her leg, hidden under her dress, and returns it to Odin’s pocket before vanishing again. When Odin turns around again and scans the room suspiciously, the faces of the serving staff are just hidden enough that she can’t be <em> sure </em> of who exactly they are. She grabs Thor’s arm and hurries him out of the dining car, dragging him back to her cabin with her.</p>
<p>“I understand,” he says firmly, “I’m with you, I’ll do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. No, of course, I don’t think you should trust the guards with such an important matter either, it’s best to be safe, I understand. We don’t want this to get out, cause a panic.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Sigyn murmurs in his ear. “Meet up with me later, I can reprogram the keycard to your suite into a copy of the master key.”</p>
<p>“Right,” he says, nodding along, letting Odin think he’s still talking to her.</p>
<p>“Let's say… an hour after the lights are turned down. I’ll tell you where to find me when it’s time. Don’t be late.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>and we're out of setup and into the plot! y'all know what comes next right :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Later that night, Thor meets Sigyn in an empty compartment and has his key re-coded to open any door on the train. Slightly later than </span>
  <em>
    <span>that,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he starts putting this new power to good use. Or bad use, depending on your perspective.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next part of the plan requires Thor to cement himself in Odin’s favor. Staging a supposed betrayal, after all, doesn’t work so well on someone who never thought much of you to begin with. It stings his ego a little that he has to stoop to trickery for this, given how long she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>already</span>
  </em>
  <span> had to see how competent and trustworthy he is- or, how trustworthy he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was,</span>
  </em>
  <span> up until he started conspiring with Sigyn, at least. Odin has already entrusted him with the task of investigating the resistance infiltration; now, he just needs to show her it was a good decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To that end, one of Sigyn’s people has agreed to be caught- only temporarily, of course, with a plan to sneak them back out of custody shortly thereafter already in place. Conveniently enough, it seems there weren’t quite as many passengers as there were accommodations for them, and one of the private compartments had been left empty. Also very conveniently, when Thor asked Odin earlier to access the surveillance camera footage, she had informed him it wouldn’t be possible to view it until after the train had arrived. That would give them plenty of time to neatly clip out the bit where Thor snuck into a private suite that wasn’t his in the middle of the night and planted fake evidence with which to stage a fake apprehension of a real criminal. Really, the whole thing couldn’t have worked out better if Thor and Sigyn had set it up themselves- which would have been nice, but they weren’t quite </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> good.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, it’s only inevitable at this point that a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>complication</span>
  </em>
  <span> would arise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn is listening to Thor’s progress over the comms, waiting to give the signal that everything is set up and ready to be put in motion. He’s only gotten as far as opening the door when she hears him swear with feeling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowns. “What’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s as if he didn’t hear her. He mutters something under his breath about this not being possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thor, talk to me, what’s going on?” Her voice sharpens, and the people around her are starting to give her worried looks. She waves them off and they go back to pretending to mind their own business.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor doesn’t answer, not really. There’s silence for a few seconds, just the sound of him breathing harshly. “You know the part of the plan where I go and scream at Odin? We’re doing it now,” he says, and then there isn’t even the sound of breathing, and all of Sigyn’s cursing at him is useless as she realizes he’s taken out his earbud and switched it off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few minutes, all she can do is pace around and fume. Whatever is happening between Thor and Odin now, she can’t hear it from here, and trying to get much closer could get her caught if Odin comes out of her cabin. Finally, the door opens and she can hear Thor shouting. He isn’t saying anything particularly enlightening, as far as “figuring out what the hell his problem is” goes. Either he’s really playing this up to make up for the fact that it wasn’t supposed to happen until </span>
  <em>
    <span>later</span>
  </em>
  <span> today, or he just… really is that much of a drama queen. Sigyn genuinely cannot tell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anyway, he’s yelling, and he gets dragged back to his own compartment and locked in, and then everything is finally quiet again. Sigyn reminds herself that she still needs his help, and therefore it would probably not be a good idea to stab him just yet, before setting off to find out what literally any of that was about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s planning to go straight to Thor and start interrogating him on the subject of what exactly he thought he was doing, but on her way there, she sees the lock on the private compartment they were planning to use has been smashed. That must have been the crash she heard while he was being dragged away from Odin. Best to investigate that first, maybe, and see if she feels less like murdering him afterward.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She doesn’t get much further than opening the door before she completely forgets what it was she meant to be doing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki,” she breathes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That explains why Thor said it was impossible. Sigyn, though, is having a hard time caring about whether or not it should be possible- or caring about anything else, for that matter, aside from the fact that her wife is here and </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then she watches Loki back away from her, no recognition in her eyes at all. No </span>
  <em>
    <span>life</span>
  </em>
  <span> in her eyes, not really. Barely any coherency to the words she mumbles to herself as she tries to make sense of both the world and her own mind. Sigyn realizes what must have truly happened to her, and she has never wanted to kill Odin more than she does right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turns away. Even if Loki doesn’t know who she is, Sigyn still doesn’t want her to see her crying. She looks confused and distressed enough as it is without adding in a… a stranger, as far as she knows, crying over her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor’s earbud is sitting on a table by the door. Sigyn picks it up and puts it in her pocket in a numb, distant sort of way. She needs to pull herself together, damn it. All of this is only more reason to make sure the plan works- that Odin is fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>destroyed.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She can’t make sure that happens if she’s compromised by her emotions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll come back for you,” she promises, as if that’s going to mean anything to Loki at all, and leaves again to talk to Thor.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Y'know, I meant for this chapter to be a little longer than it is, but it wanted to end where it did, and who was I to say no to getting to post it sooner?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>We are now, I'm delighted to inform you, officially derailed... from canon.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sigyn knocks on the door of Thor’s compartment looking like she’s just seen a ghost. He doesn’t make any comment after slipping her his keycard to unlock the door, because he has, too.</p>
<p>Also because he doesn’t have time to say anything at all before she’s laying into him.</p>
<p>“Why the <em> fuck </em> didn’t you say something as soon as you knew?” she finishes off after a solid five minutes.</p>
<p>Thor looks as if he wants to argue, but thinks better of it, because at some point in that rant Sigyn pulled out a knife- where she was keeping it, he doesn’t know and isn’t sure he wants to- and started gesturing with it. Sure, she <em> says </em> she’s not going to kill him as long as they still need to work together, but it’s still a knife in her hand, and he knows exactly how sharp it is after trying to grab it away from her got him a cut on his arm. She claims that was an accident, and that he should know better than to make sudden movements at people who are holding weapons. Just because that’s admittedly true doesn’t mean he trusts her about the other bit.</p>
<p>“I… wasn’t thinking,” he admits instead. “I saw her, and I was just so <em> angry, </em> I couldn’t think straight.”</p>
<p>“She’s my <em> wife, </em> Thor, how do you think <em> I </em> feel about it? And yet <em> somehow </em> I’ve managed to restrain myself from immediately going to shout at Odin, potentially <em> ruining </em> all our plans to actually <em> do </em> anything to her.”</p>
<p>She takes a deep breath and puts the knife away, which lets Thor feel safe enough to point out, “You did come straight here and shout at <em> me, </em> though.”</p>
<p>Sigyn shrugs and tosses him his earbud, which is probably as close as he’s going to get to any kind of admission that he has a point.</p>
<p>“But- our plans aren’t <em> actually </em> ruined, are they? You must have some kind of backup that works in this situation.”</p>
<p>“If you’re asking me if I specifically made backup plans in case of you being an impulsive moron, the answer is yes, of course I did. It’s a little more risky, but we can still pull it off with a bit of luck.”</p>
<p>“You mean you don’t have a <em> backup </em> backup plan in case something goes wrong with the <em> first </em> backup plan? Amateur move, Sigyn.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I do. But you die in that one, so let’s try and make sure we don’t need it, shall we?”</p>
<p>“…Point taken.”</p>
<p>She nods. “That’s what I thought.”</p>
<p>“Now, if you’re done being angry, with me-”</p>
<p>“I’m not, but go on.”</p>
<p>“What are we going to do about Loki?” he asks bluntly. “There’s no way any of your planning accounted for <em> her </em> being here.”</p>
<p>Sigyn closes her eyes briefly. “We’ll just have to… keep her out of the way. If we had more time I would improvise something to include her, but it’s getting close to morning, and we only have two days left before we reach Midgard.”</p>
<p>“And she’s a loose cannon- the state she’s in, there’s no telling what she might do.”</p>
<p>“That, too. So I’ll just- take your key and go get her, and she can stay in here until everything is over.”</p>
<p>Thor decides it isn’t worth it to protest keeping an amnesiac criminal in his room. Judging by Sigyn’s face, it would just get him shouted at again. “Fine. And if Odin notices she’s disappeared? You don’t think she’ll, I don’t know, <em> immediately </em> suspect me of being responsible, given that I <em> just </em> confronted her about Loki?”</p>
<p>Sigyn shakes her head and smiles grimly. “Odin,” she says, “is about to have <em> much </em> bigger problems. …But do tell me what she said before we get started again, since for some stupid reason you decided to make sure I couldn’t hear any of it.”</p>
<p>“Right.”</p>
<p>Loki doesn’t understand what’s happening when Sigyn takes her from her compartment to Thor’s. But she probably hasn’t understood <em> anything </em> that’s happened since the moment of her supposed death, so Sigyn tries not to let herself feel guilty about the uncomprehending, maybe even frightened glance she sends around the room. That’s Odin’s fault, she reminds herself, not hers. She tries to explain to Loki that she’s here to help and they’re going to make sure she stays safe, but she doesn’t seem to understand that any more than the rest of it. It was worth a try. Loki sits on the bed and withdraws back into her thoughts, whatever they may be, while Sigyn explains the backup plan to Thor.</p>
<p>“Judging by the previous conversation you had with Odin, the only thing she <em> really </em> seems to care about is the engine room, right? Freaked out when she thought someone had messed with it, wouldn’t let you see inside.”</p>
<p>“Right.”</p>
<p>“Well…” Sigyn holds up Thor’s keycard and raises her eyebrows. “First thing, let’s go see what all the fuss is about, shall we? We’ve still got a little time before anyone else should be moving around- or, anyone who isn’t with me, at least.”</p>
<p>Loki raises her head at the talk of the engine room and watches them leave, as silent as she’s been the whole time. If either of them were to turn around and look at her, though, they might notice her apparently struggling to find the words to speak.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>The train is still dark and silent. If Thor’s confrontation with Odin woke any of the other passengers, they’ve wisely decided to pretend they didn’t hear anything. No one interrupts them on their way to the engine room. It’s almost too easy; for all Odin’s panic at the thought of it being interfered with, there aren’t even any guards posted. Maybe she thinks the lock will be enough to keep any would-be intruders out, after all… or maybe there are other measures she’s relying on, subtle enough security that Thor didn’t notice it when he watched her open the door before.</p>
<p>No alarms go off when they unlock the door, though. Sigyn eases it open first, careful and slow, looking around the frame and the floor just inside for anything they might trip by stepping through. She whispers to Thor that it all seems clear.</p>
<p>And then she opens the door fully and they both walk inside, looking around in the dim light, and if any alarms <em> were </em> going off, neither of them would even notice the sound.</p>
<p>They both stand there in shock for- much too long, can’t understand what they’re looking at, let alone do anything about it. When Thor pulls himself together and jumps into action, Sigyn is a fraction of a second behind him out of pure necessity. She grabs his arm with a strength he wasn’t expecting and shoves him against the door before he can finish lunging for the controls.</p>
<p><em> “Don’t. </em> Touch. Anything. Whatever this is, whatever Odin’s done to <em> him-” </em> she chokes back her grief for the second time tonight; it’s clear at a glance that Kvasir is already too far gone to save- “well, it looks like it’s the only thing keeping the train running. Somehow. Unless you want to get us all <em> killed- </em> no, scratch that. Even if you do, <em> I </em> don’t, and if you try that again you’re losing a hand.” Her fingers twitch toward her dagger’s hiding place. “Got it?”</p>
<p>Thor is just about vibrating out of his skin with the need to break something, but when he’s forced to calm down a little, he has to admit she’s got a point. Jury’s still out on how he feels about anyone else on this train, but <em> he </em> certainly doesn’t want to die here. He nods. “Right. You’re right.”</p>
<p>“I know I am.” Sigyn releases him and turns to look around, carefully keeping her eyes averted from the poor half-dead man on the altar. She can’t be emotional right now; there isn’t time. “We need to… figure this out.”</p>
<p>He takes a deep breath and stands next to her. “Any idea what it all is?”</p>
<p>She shakes her head. “None.”</p>
<p>A few seconds pass, in which Sigyn examines the walls and Thor looks around halfheartedly, arms crossed.</p>
<p>“Well- if you’re only looking, take a picture and do it somewhere safer. If we stay in here much longer, someone might see us leaving.”</p>
<p>“Fine,” she agrees a little too quickly.</p>
<p>Neither of them wants to admit they’re too creeped out to stay in the engine room any longer than absolutely necessary. But even putting aside the sacrificial altar- which is <em> not </em> an easy thing to put aside- there’s something about the place that just feels… off. Something sick and oily in the air that feels like it clings to them, even as they leave with their photographs and hurry back to Thor’s compartment.</p>
<p>As soon as the door is safely shut behind them, Sigyn checks the pictures again. She half expects them to be gone, or corrupted too badly to make out, or even show a perfectly normal engine room and thereby confirm that everything they saw back there was some bizarre shared hallucination. But no, they’re still there, still exactly as she took them. She closes her eyes and sighs.</p>
<p>“So… do you have a plan that accounts for <em> that?” </em> Thor asks, half joking and half genuinely hoping the answer will be yes.</p>
<p>“No,” she says tiredly, and tosses her phone down on the bed. “I don’t.”</p>
<p>There’s a long, exhausted silence. It’s broken by another voice, hoarse and uncertain.</p>
<p>“Sigyn? Love, is… is that really you?” Loki is standing up, now, and looking at them- actually <em> at </em> them, not past them. The vague, distant look in her eyes is all but gone. “And, if you truly are here… Would you care to explain to me what the <em> fuck </em> is going on?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I would love to hear your predictions on what will happen next, now that we're not following the album anymore :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I hope you like dialogue.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sigyn doesn’t waste any time standing in shock, just crosses the room and kisses her wife and delegates processing any of this to a version of herself slightly further in the future. Loki doesn’t fit in her arms exactly as she remembers, as nice as that cliché would be. Whatever really happened at her supposed execution, it took its toll on her body as well as her mind. She’s thinner now, physically weaker- but Sigyn forces down the instinct to treat her that way. Loki has never appreciated being handled like something breakable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’re both tearstained and shaking when they finally have to break apart for air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I missed you,” Sigyn whispers. “I thought you were dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki laughs, almost disbelieving. “So did I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stare into each other’s eyes and move in to kiss again, when Thor clears his throat. Both of them jump and turn to look at him. It’s like they forgot he was even there, and when they’re reminded, they aren’t apologetic so much as annoyed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki squints at him, then at Sigyn. “Hang on, is that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thor?</span>
  </em>
  <span> What’s he doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, long story short.” Sigyn visibly pulls herself together. “Turns out we both hate each other less than we hate </span>
  <em>
    <span>Odin,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and neither of us wanted to see her pull off whatever she was trying to do with this train, so we came to an agreement. Taking her down in a way that helps us both.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh,” Loki interrupts, “let me guess, are you doing the Hlesey Turnabout?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No, it’s- well, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> more of a modified Niflheim Circus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hums. “If it was me-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> would’ve done,” Sigyn teases, “but I’m not sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’d</span>
  </em>
  <span> exactly be up for that sort of thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki puts on an affronted tone. “I don’t know what you’re implying. I’m a respectable married woman now.” She actually manages to keep a straight face for a second before breaking into laughter and taking Sigyn with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor clears his throat again, louder this time. “Sorry to interrupt,” he says, more than a little sarcasm slipping in, “but there are </span>
  <em>
    <span>slightly</span>
  </em>
  <span> bigger things to worry about right now than flirting. Are you planning to get back to those any time soon, or should I save my sanity and leave now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn returns to seriousness, and anyone who didn’t know her well would think she was never amused in the first place. “So… anyway, it was going pretty well. But then- we went into the engine room, and it was-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. That’s… that’s what I was trying to stop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You never told me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. I should have, I just… didn’t feel like I could talk about it. I guess I was hoping I was wrong about everything somehow. Telling you what I saw would have made it real, or something.” She laughs bitterly and gestures to the train around them. “We can see how well </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> worked out for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn takes her hands and a deep breath. “It’s not too late to do something about Odin. We still have two days before the train gets to Midgard.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki laughs again, and then realizes no one but her understands where the joke is. She schools her face serious and sits down, gesturing both Sigyn and Thor closer. “Right. I’ve got a lot to explain, and not much time. If you haven’t figured it out by now… Odin should be the </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> of your concerns. Can I see your phone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn unlocks it and hands it to her, and she looks at the photos from the engine room again. They were clear when Sigyn and Thor first returned with them, but now they’ve impossibly started to deteriorate, glitches appearing and details blurring out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor leans over to see and starts. “What the-?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki pats his arm a little condescendingly, which he puts up with mainly by being too thrown by recent events to actually notice. “You’ll understand when I’m done talking. For now, all you need to know is that you’ve only got so long before those disappear, which means </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ve</span>
  </em>
  <span> only got so long to tell you everything while I can still think clearly. Don’t make me waste that time with stupid questions, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nods. “Fine. Go on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She takes a deep breath and begins. “First of all, the train. The train that we’re apparently </span>
  <em>
    <span>on,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you know that one? Yeah, it’s completely fucked. I would assume you’ve figured that one out, after seeing how there’s, you know, a sacrificial altar where the engine should be, but just to be sure we’re all clear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor wonders if he ought to take offense at her flippant tone on behalf of the sacrifice, but he did </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> agree that he wouldn’t interrupt. Besides, Sigyn knew the man personally, and she doesn’t seem too bothered, so it would likely be out of line for </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Odin, long story short, has been meddling with forces she really doesn’t understand, and now we’re inside one. We didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>create</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Bifrost, like she claims. More like we just… found it, and didn’t realize how dangerous and </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was until later. And because Odin is a stupid, hubristic piece of shit, she refused to change any of her plans for the train, even when I tried to warn her of the danger. She thought she could learn from it, understand it and harness it to her will. When she wasn’t listening to reason- well, that’s when I, ah… left the project.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To become a terrorist,” Thor can’t help snarking under his breath. Or rather, he probably could help it, but he doesn’t try very hard. It’s only really interrupting if she stops to reply, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? I try to prevent the apocalypse, and all you can do is complain about a little collateral damage?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“A little-</span>
  </em>
  <span> wait, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>apocalypse?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> However long ago it may have been, he spent enough time with Loki once to know when she’s exaggerating. She often is. Right now, as far as he can tell, she isn’t. “You’re serious. That’s…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What part of </span>
  <em>
    <span>we are currently shooting a train through a living being</span>
  </em>
  <span> suggested otherwise, in your head? Or did the concept just echo around in the empty space where your brain should be and finally bounce back out of your mouth?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing Thor gear up to snap back with something equally childish, Sigyn holds up her hands in the universal gesture of </span>
  <em>
    <span>chill out.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Enough of that, both of you. Look, we all know Thor’s head only exists to act as an easel holding up the canvas of his pretty face, but now is not the time to discuss it. Explain that oncoming apocalypse you mentioned, please?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sticks her tongue out at him triumphantly, as if it’s any surprise that her own wife is taking her side here- just to get the pettiness out of her system- and goes on. “Not that much to explain, really. We’re traveling through a living thing right now, and it’s really big and really powerful and probably not very happy with us, and if we don’t do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something,</span>
  </em>
  <span> it’s going to kill everyone on the train and, now that we’ve got its attention, everyone on any planet with a Bifrost station as well. Is that enough of an apocalypse to justify myself to you with, dickhead?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Loki.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sigyn is beginning to develop a headache, and she isn’t sure how much of it has to do with the stress of the whole situation and how much is solely the result of trying to keep her wife and her co-conspirator from coming to blows.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, sorry, I’m done. Until he says something stupid again, I will keep my derision to myself,” she promises solemnly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor squints at her. “Shouldn’t that be </span>
  <em>
    <span>unless</span>
  </em>
  <span> I say something stupid?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. And you’re on thin ice with that question already.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gives up and stops talking, which seems to be what she was trying to achieve that entire time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, like I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say, we’ve got however much of the journey is left to make sure we don’t drag an apocalypse into Midgard with us when we arrive. Hopefully, we can do something about that in the engine room. We’re also going to have to go there anyway, because I’m pretty sure the only reason I can think right now is some kind of energy residue on those pictures you took.” She holds up Sigyn’s phone again and demonstrates that the deterioration of the image quality is steadily getting worse. “Which is dissipating into the air or whatever, so we’ve only got so long before the Advanced Dissociation comes back for me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn touches her hand. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looks at her, and Thor gets the feeling an entire conversation is passing between them in the space of a single moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You couldn’t have known, love,” she finally says out loud. “Everyone believed I was dead. Even I still don’t know how Odin faked it so well, just that… well, one second was my execution, and the next, I was in that engine room, with her interrogating me about fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>physics,</span>
  </em>
  <span> because apparently, destroying all my notes and running away to join the resistance still wasn’t enough to keep her from </span>
  <em>
    <span>using</span>
  </em>
  <span> me.” She’s snarling by the end of the sentence, hands tugging her hair into even more of a tangled mess. Sigyn pulls them away, careful and deliberate. Holds them until she calms herself, not saying anything about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it feels safe to break the quiet again, Thor huffs. “You know, I’m beginning to reconsider the part of the plan where Odin </span>
  <em>
    <span>survives</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. Too late to change that, d’you think?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The length of Sigyn’s thoughtful pause is very telling. “Hmm. We’ll see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah- no.” Loki shakes her head and pushes her hair back from her face to reveal a sharp, humorless smile. “After all she’s done? She doesn’t get to just </span>
  <em>
    <span>die.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You hardly get any satisfaction out of it at all, trying to make a </span>
  <em>
    <span>corpse</span>
  </em>
  <span> understand exactly how badly you’ve fucked it over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor hesitates. “And you- know that from </span>
  <em>
    <span>experience,</span>
  </em>
  <span> or…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Obviously.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s that, then.” Sigyn claps her hands decisively. “We’re ruining Odin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> we’re saving a train full of people we can’t stand from some kind of horrible apocalyptic demise… and we’ve got a little less than two days to pull it off. Let’s get planning.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to Juan_Pujol_Garcia for helping me with the bits of this that required actually knowing things about mythology!</p>
<p>Both of the made-up con names in this chapter are spoofs of ones from Leverage- the Spanish Turnabout and Romanian Circus, specifically, renamed because I don't think Spain or Romania exist anywhere in the Yggdrasil system.</p>
<p>This chapter is about 1/3 longer than it would have been if I hadn't gotten caught up in the euphoria of Loki's dynamic with Thor, and I have no regrets.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The first thing established is that they can’t stay where they are all day. Thor had a point earlier: when Odin realizes Loki is missing, he’ll be the first person she suspects, seeing as he’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> person she’s aware of who knows Loki is alive and on the train in the first place. And seeing as he may have also said something, in the heat of the moment, about killing her himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should I be worried?” Loki doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>sound</span>
  </em>
  <span> very worried. In fact, she sounds more relaxed than she has at any point since coming back to herself. She’s sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the bed, letting Sigyn attack her hair with a brush before putting it up in braids, and apparently she’s the sort of person who gets sleepy when someone is messing with her hair. She’s supposed to be putting on makeup to help disguise her appearance, but for the past few minutes her eyes have been closed and her head is leaning against Sigyn’s knee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In general, or specifically about getting killed by me? Either way, the answer is probably yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t kill me.” He’s expecting to hear that followed up with ‘I would kill you before you could,’ but instead it’s, “I have a list of all the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen you do set up to email itself to everyone you know in the event of my death at your hands. You wouldn’t dare.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor really doesn’t know what to say to that. It doesn’t sound real, but it’s not as if </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> can prove it isn’t, and if he presses the issue he wouldn’t put it past her to prove him wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought,” she says in response to his silence. It comes out less smug than she’d like, a bit slurred. It might be the beginning of her losing coherence again. It might also be Loki just really, really enjoying having her hair touched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it’s done, hopefully, she’ll look like an entirely different person. At least different enough that, if someone sees her passing by, they’ll think “huh, that person looked sort of like Loki,” and not “wait, what the fuck, was that Loki, isn’t she dead?” The plan is to sneak her into the kitchen, where Sigyn’s accomplices will be able to make sure nothing happens to her until the coast is clear to return to the engine room unnoticed. Until then, Thor can keep working on the other passengers, and hopefully explain away all the </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouting</span>
  </em>
  <span> they may or may not have heard him doing last night. On the bright side, at least he was thinking enough to avoid mentioning what exactly he was so angry about once Odin had opened the door to have him escorted out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s hardly the most involved of plans. All the important parts happen after they make it to the engine room, and they won’t know what they’ll need to do at </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> point until they actually get there. There are contingencies for every other variable, sure, but whatever’s going on in there is such an unknown, trying to predict it would be a waste of time they can no longer afford.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready,” Loki announces, emerging from the wardrobe with her disguise in place. In retrospect, there never should have been any doubt she would pull it off. Given a new hairdo, makeup skills and access to Thor’s extra clothes, she’s turned herself into a fashionable young nobleman. This is especially impressive given that Loki isn’t exactly a young anything, and Thor has never knowingly owned anything that could be called fashionable in his life. She grabs a chunky pair of sunglasses as a finishing touch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t need that,” Sigyn observes. “At this point, it just makes you look </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> suspicious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m getting into-” Loki clears her throat and lowers her voice a little. “I’m getting into character, and my character is very hungover right now. He had a rough night. Do you expect him to go around looking at the Bifrost without any protection, in his state?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighs and tries to hide her amusement. There’s no need to encourage her. “Whatever you say, dear.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor leaves first, and whispers over the comms when he’s determined no one will see Sigyn and Loki coming out of his compartment. Best to avoid being seen together if they can help it. When they reach the dining car, he blends in with the other passengers having breakfast, while Sigyn blends in with the staff. Loki… well, she doesn’t really </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> blending in. She practically drapes herself over the bar, apparently very committed to the totally unnecessary cover story she invented on the spot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or maybe she just wants to see the look on Hati’s face when she lowers the shades and orders a drink in her own, normal voice, with an exaggerated wink just to make sure there’s no dismissing it. It is exactly as satisfying as she hoped it would be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s quickly ushered into the kitchen, where it’s easier to talk in private, and Sigyn has already informed most of her people of what’s going on. Despite all the years Loki has been gone, she slips back into leadership almost as if no time has passed at all. She can feel her control of herself beginning to slip, though. By her own judgment, she’s hiding it well enough, but Sigyn notices and comes up to stand beside her, near enough to catch her if anything happens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My friends, as you may have noticed, reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” She grins, and subtly leans into Sigyn’s arm around her waist as a wave of dizziness comes and goes. “Always wanted to say that. You probably have questions. I’ll explain what I can, but I’m afraid I don’t have much time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, out in the dining room, Thor is getting a lot of not-very-subtle stares from people who pretend to be singularly focused on their breakfast as soon as he looks their direction. He does his best to pretend, in return, not to notice or care, until someone finally gets up the courage to sit down across from him and ask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did something happen last night? We heard you- uh, talking to Odin. Not to say that anyone was </span>
  <em>
    <span>eavesdropping,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but- it seemed… intense.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sighs: a little regretful, possibly even sad. “I’d have no room to take offense if you said it plainly. I lost my temper with her and it turned into a shouting match; I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire train heard it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The curious diner nods sympathetically and goes on, encouraged. “What was it about? If you don’t mind saying, that is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor glances away. “I shouldn’t talk about it,” he says, in that certain tone employed by people who are absolutely, one hundred percent going to talk about it. The silence draws out just long enough. He looks up and hesitates another second. “Last night, I came across- well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> shouldn’t be telling you about the specifics. Let’s just say I found something which gave me good reason to believe Odin guilty of a crime I couldn’t bring myself to forgive or ignore. I confronted her, demanded to know if it was true, and her reaction all but confirmed my suspicions. She didn’t seem at all remorseful, and that, I’ll admit, is when I failed to control myself.” He forces himself to look as if he isn’t proud of what he said. “She had me escorted from her cabin. If I’d stayed calm, there might have been some hope of reasoning with her, but I doubt there’s any chance she would listen to me now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By this point, their conversation has pricked the ears of everyone in the compartment. All other talk has stopped, the better to eavesdrop on what Thor is saying. After a moment, he turns and looks around, watching them all sheepishly avoid eye contact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re going to listen in, I’d prefer you be honest about it,” he informs them. “We’re all friends here, aren’t we? Or at least, I have no reason to call any of you enemies. Straightforward conversation is much more dignified than spying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some of the other passengers look at each other, surprised. Thor guesses his reputation is working against him here. He’s known to be rather quick to anger, and slow to forgive. It’s not exactly inaccurate- just look at what happened with Odin last night- but really, he likes to think he wouldn’t metaphorically take anyone’s head off for listening to a conversation he was having </span>
  <em>
    <span>in public,</span>
  </em>
  <span> even if he weren’t intentionally trying to make sure everyone heard it. Regardless, they eventually seem to realize he’s being sincere, and come up to gather around him. He tries not to look intimidating. He’ll need to be careful: give away too much, and they might not be willing to believe the details; too little and it will sound like a poorly thought-out lie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Much better. Go ahead, then- I can’t promise answers, but I think it’s only fair to tell you as much of the truth as I safely can.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time everyone’s curiosity is satisfied, Thor has nearly exhausted his voice from talking, and his mind from coming up with the right things to say. There are only so many hesitations an audience will let you get away with before the things you say after them start sounding less and less true. He’s about to slip away, return to his compartment and meet back up with Sigyn once no one is looking at him, when he notices the ripples of a disturbance in the next car down. He can’t see what’s happening, but he distinctly hears his own name in the voice of the same guard who threw him out of Odin’s cabin. Shit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like we’ve got a problem,” he murmurs to Sigyn, and then tells the people standing near him in a worried tone he doesn’t have to fake, “I think they’re looking for </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone who hears leans slightly away from him, a reaction he charitably dismisses as subconscious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shakes his head. “I didn’t think she’d go </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> far, but maybe I should have expected it. I swear to you I’ve done nothing wrong- not that it will matter once she arrests me, will it?” He scoffs. The voices move closer, almost to the door, and he looks up in alarm and swears quietly. “Don’t tell them what you heard from me, understand? For my sake </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> yours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that parting line- cliche, maybe, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>effective,</span>
  </em>
  <span> as he points out in response to Sigyn’s unimpressed huff- he disappears as well as he can, slipping into one of the possible hiding places they’d been sure to make note of early last night. Hopefully, she and Loki are well out of sight by now, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few seconds more, and he would have been too late. The guards- two of them- enter the dining car and tell everyone to stop what they’re doing, businesslike.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There is no cause for alarm,” says the one from Odin’s cabin, which is laughable given what he says next. “None of you are in any trouble. All we need from you is your cooperation. Have you seen either of these people today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor can’t exactly see what’s happening, but based on the waves of whispers it sets off around the room, it’s easy enough to guess that the guards just showed the passengers two pictures: himself, and Sigyn. Not everyone would recognize </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> at a glance, which is exactly how she likes it, but a few do. And in a crowd like this, one person’s realization very quickly becomes common knowledge. Maybe they don’t recognize her face, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> of any importance in Asgard knows Sigyn’s name. They all know exactly how scared they should be by the idea of her being somewhere on the train.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The situation is under control,” the other guard claims in an attempt to calm everyone, which would be a fine thing to say, except for the fact that it pretty obviously isn’t if they’re going around asking questions like that in the first place. They’re fairly well distracted now, trying to quiet the passengers down, and neither of them notices a thing when Thor sneaks out of his hiding spot and escapes, making himself unobtrusive in one of the compartments they’ve already been through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s only a minor setback. The guards are hardly going to be a threat- they can barely keep the passengers under control, by the looks of it, let alone catch their targets. They could probably even be talked into helping, given a decent chance for Thor to do the right talking. Sigyn’s presence being known means they’ll have to adjust their plans, but he’s sure she already has a few different ways in mind to use the situation to their advantage. Once the guards are out of the picture, he’ll be free to get back in there and let everyone know what they ought to think about it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I did not expect Loki to do half the things she did in this chapter, and I'm really not sure how she managed that when I'm the one who wrote her doing them. Also I nearly accidentally put the first plot point of the next chapter at the end of this one instead of where it belongs, which I have decided was also her fault.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The problem is, the guards don’t seem to be leaving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s ridiculous. They clearly aren’t getting anywhere, and yet they just keep pacing around the train, with the occasional break to give people suspicious looks or ask questions they’ve already asked a good eight times before. Maybe Odin warned them against coming back empty-handed. Eventually, Thor has to accept the risk of going back out to talk to people anyway. He keeps moving himself to be safe, switching compartments whenever he needs to dodge their haphazard patrols, and whatever Sigyn and her people are doing to avoid being spotted seems to be working at well. It’s the middle of the evening before anything goes horribly wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor is sitting in one of the overly luxurious passenger cars, working his charisma on a few of the people who only heard about what happened at breakfast secondhand. It’s going well, if he dares say so- the nobility always loves a good bit of drama that doesn’t involve them directly, and the way he’s spun this one, they seem to be eating it up. He’s feeling pretty good when the door opens, and then he’s feeling very, very bad, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>Loki</span>
  </em>
  <span> walks in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t think quickly enough to hide his shock, and everyone else in the compartment follows his line of sight. Loki is disheveled and vacant, and whatever magic she worked earlier to so completely hide her identity is long gone. She looks like nothing other than herself in ill-fitting clothes, with braids that have started coming undone and makeup too badly smeared to serve as any kind of disguise. If he’d reacted better, it might have been possible to explain her away, but it’s too late now. Everyone has seen him staring, and they’ve jumped to the obvious and, unfortunately, true conclusion. The air is already filled with speculations as to how Loki could possibly be alive, even as people nervously edge away from her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have a problem,” he hisses, and takes a breath to go on: how did the resistance manage to lose track of their entire leader this badly, and what the fuck is he supposed to say to everyone who’s now seen her wandering aimlessly through the train? He doesn’t have time to say any of that, though, because in the time it takes him to pull himself together enough to begin, the door on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>other</span>
  </em>
  <span> side of the compartment opens, and in comes one of the guards. If there’s any silver lining to this unmitigated disaster, at least he’s too distracted by Loki at the opposite end of the car to notice Thor sitting practically within arm’s reach of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s not much of an upside. Especially not when he says a few words into the radio at his belt and then moves to apprehend her, and there’s nothing Thor can do about it without upending the plan even further. Or rather, he might as well be honest with himself- specifically, there’s nothing he can do without ruling out every version of the plan that still ends with him in Odin’s place, rather than leaving the entire system in political chaos. Loki is taken away, directly to Odin herself, and he sits there and does nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Things feel a little bit unreal for a while after that. Uncertain. When it’s safe, he goes to meet back up with Sigyn and decide how to proceed. To say she isn’t happy with him would be a laughable understatement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There was nothing I could do,” he defends himself. “Not that would have made anything better, at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s pacing angrily around the small storage room they chose to meet in. “You could have brought her back. Is that not fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>better</span>
  </em>
  <span> enough for you? You put your precious reputation above someone else’s safety again, and I won’t be responsible for whatever I do to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Funny how you’re accusing </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> of having my priorities wrong. We planned for this, remember? We have </span>
  <em>
    <span>multiple</span>
  </em>
  <span> backup plans specifically for someone getting caught. I don’t recall making any for situations where I knock out one of Odin’s guards and run off with Loki in front of many witnesses. If anyone is letting their personal interests get in the way-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, will you? Just- stop.” She turns away and takes a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m not losing her again. Whatever you may think of me for that- frankly, I don’t care. I’ve already lost her once, and I can’t let it happen a second time.” Her voice almost shakes. She doesn’t let it. “There is no version of events where we leave her with Odin. Understood?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nods slowly. “Yes. I understand.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s a faint note of surprise in her voice at the lack of argument when she replies, “Good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What they’ll do to retrieve Loki is… well, it isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>simple.</span>
  </em>
  <span> If it were simple, they would be able to pull it off right away, rather than needing to wait until morning when they can use the other people milling about the train as a distraction. But it doesn’t require much discussion. They went over it once already, back when the three of them were laying out all their new plans. All they need to do is adjust for the details of the situation, and they’ll be ready to go as soon as the time comes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The really difficult part is deciding on what to say to all the other passengers who saw Loki- or rather, </span>
  <em>
    <span>agreeing</span>
  </em>
  <span> on what to say to them. They have a couple of different options as to what story to get everyone to believe, is the thing. And both Thor and Sigyn feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> strongly about which of those options is right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve told you already,” Thor says, low and stubborn. “I am not doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> for you that will risk my place in the succession. You agreed to that back when I agreed to trust you enough to do this at all. It’s strange how you seem to keep </span>
  <em>
    <span>forgetting.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn turns on him with her most disbelieving look and sharpest tone. “Is that seriously still all you can think about? This isn’t just about </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> anymore. I would’ve hoped you wouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> self-absorbed you can’t bring yourself to let your ambition go in favor of something a little more likely to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually work.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He almost laughs. “If you can call </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of what we’re doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>likely to actually work</span>
  </em>
  <span> with a straight face, you’re a far better actor than I am. We both know you’re only doing the same thing I am- trying to talk me into doing what benefits the two of </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And it’s not going to work, because we also both know what I’m willing to do, and what I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s your call,” she finally says. “Ultimately, I mean. It’s not as if I can force you to say anything. I just want you to think about it. Think about whether you really want to die on the hill of refusing to put anyone other than yourself first, and then… I suppose we’ll just have to see what happens in the morning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose we will,” he echoes, somewhat resentful. “But I’m feeling pretty confident about what </span>
  <em>
    <span>my call</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that tense parting, they go their separate ways. There’s nothing else they can do tonight, and neither of them have done much in the way of sleeping since the train began its journey. For now, they’ll do the best they can, under the circumstances, to get some rest before morning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Odin stares out the window.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s done little else since boarding the train. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span> train, her wonderful, terrible creation… It hasn’t been as perfect as she hoped. Recent events have left her somewhat unsettled, even while knowing how near impossible it would be for anyone to stop what she has set in motion. Her victory is practically assured, at this point, but it still angers her, to think that anyone would dare even </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to prevent it. When she catches the traitors responsible, she’ll make sure they come to regret it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The view of the Bifrost calms her. From the center of her observation deck, it surrounds her almost entirely. Before too much longer, she’ll finally be able to feel its embrace for real. Let it take her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>change</span>
  </em>
  <span> her, make her a wonderful, terrible, </span>
  <em>
    <span>unstoppable</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing like itself. She only need have patience for one more day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A knock at the door shatters her thoughts, and it takes a serious effort of self-control to keep from losing it at whoever just interrupted her contemplation of the void. She’s glad she restrained herself when she opens the door to see one of her guards, with a certain lost little asset in tow. He looks nervous to be so close to Loki, even seemingly docile as she is, and he looks even more nervous when Odin smiles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well done,” she tells him, a clear dismissal. “I’ll take care of this from here. Make sure no one is allowed in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, ma’am,” the guard agrees, too relieved that none of it is his problem anymore to question her any further. She closes the door on him and drifts inexorably back to the glass wall, dragging Loki behind her unresisting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It truly is a shame,” she muses, half to herself and half to someone who doesn’t hear. “If only you had been able to </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand</span>
  </em>
  <span> it the way I do… if you hadn’t been scared off by the first glimpse of the truth, this might have been a triumph for us both.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s startled when Loki makes some soft sound of protest- actually tries to pull her arm away. Odin is still stronger than her, of course. She holds her there for a second, just to make the point, before letting her go. It’s not as if she can run away. It’s far too late for running, even if there had been anywhere to go. Loki backs away from her, fear written over her face, and Odin smiles again. The idea that, just from </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> touch, she’s regained enough of herself- however momentarily- to </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> afraid… it’s exhilarating. She is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so close.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Soon,” she tells her unwilling guest, soft and certain, and watches her reaction. “Only a little longer, and you’ll finally understand.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so uh. fuck odin am i right</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Early the next morning, Thor stands in the corridor leading to the engine room, speaking quietly into a recording device. He slips the device back into his pocket and moves to leave just in time to slip past the guard coming the other direction on a patrol. His exit is quick, but not quite enough so to avoid being seen. He's disappeared before he can be caught, naturally, the first few passengers up and about providing just enough cover for his escape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It only takes fifteen minutes for Odin to storm out of her cabin. She's finally decided that if her guards aren't competent enough to apprehend one fairly recognizable man, she isn't above doing the job herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s headed for you,” Sigyn whispers, watching through the cracked-open door of an empty private compartment. “Keep her busy as long as you can… I’m gonna go steal my wife.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor’s affirmative reply is only vaguely registered. She’s already locking the door and turning to the air vent in the corner of the ceiling, testing the weight of a magnetic grappling hook in her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One might ask what use a space train has for air ducts. They circulate the air around the compartments to keep it from getting too stale, for one thing. Unfortunately- Sigyn reflects, as she hauls herself up and inside this one after removing the cover- they don’t all </span>
  <em>
    <span>connect</span>
  </em>
  <span> to each other. Constructing it that way would have been a safety risk- if there were, say, a window broken in one compartment, air would be lost from all the others in the time it took to seal it off. A lot of engineers put up with a lot of weird and annoying requests from Odin while building this train- such as the fingerprint and eye scanners that make it such a hassle to get into her cabin in the first place- but there were some things that simply couldn’t be allowed in good conscience, and so it does still follow </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> basic standards. Thankfully, this does not include the typical </span>
  <em>
    <span>size</span>
  </em>
  <span> of a train’s air circulation vents, which Sigyn </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> wouldn’t be able to fit herself into. It’s a bit tight as it is. Lucky thing she’s not claustrophobic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, what scares her is the part that comes next.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other purpose of the Ratatosk Express’s air ducts, you see, is to take fresh air </span>
  <em>
    <span>into</span>
  </em>
  <span> the train when it’s stopped on a planet. This would be useful for stops in the middle of longer voyages, if there had ever been any intention on Odin’s part to make more than one. The intake vents are very much </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> supposed to be anything other than tightly sealed while the train is in motion, but Sigyn has the tools to open it, a very strong magnet, and the knowledge that the Bifrost does not necessarily behave the same way as the rest of space. If she’s right- and she had better be- the only thing she’ll be at risk of dying from is a failure to get back inside within the amount of time she can hold her breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She seals off the way she came before examining the panel in front of her. The internal vents open and close every so often normally, as a way of regulating air flow; it’s fairly easy to trick the sensors that control them. Of course, no more trickery is needed once she forces the external panel off. She leaves it attached by one corner and pulls herself out the opening and on top of the train.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Bifrost is, as expected, a horrific thing to stand in the middle of unprotected. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>pulls</span>
  </em>
  <span> at her, not with any physical wind- it’s eerily still, out here, save for the movement of the train- but in her mind, tugging at her to realize the futility of all her efforts and throw herself into its incomprehensible colours. Sigyn tries to ignore it and remind herself she won’t be out here long. Crouching on the roof of the compartment she came from and clinging to the edge for balance, she throws her magnetic grappling hook towards the rear of the train. It hits its mark on the roof of Odin’s cabin, and a few tugs confirm that it </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably</span>
  </em>
  <span> isn’t going to come unstuck and get her killed. Good enough. She wraps it once around her waist and starts reeling herself in as fast as she safely can.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s beginning to feel lightheaded when she reaches the right car. She kneels at the edge of the roof and holds on to her anchor with one hand, feeling for the vent with the other. It’s important to be quick about this- if the backup seal is triggered to close before she’s inside, that will be it. So intent is her concentration on finding the weak point she needs and placing her tools to exploit it, the motions of her other hand almost escape her notice entirely. It’s only when she nearly unbalances and falls that she realizes she has just unconsciously yanked the magnet free from the roof. Before she can replace it, it falls from her hand and is lost to the void as she’s jolted off her perch entirely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gravity isn’t a concern, but that still doesn’t make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy</span>
  </em>
  <span> to hang from the side of a moving train. She also knows her grip will only get weaker the longer she’s out here. She can’t take a breath to prepare, so she sets her jaw, then kicks off the side of the train to propel herself up. In not so much one smooth motion as a series of frantic ones that nonetheless melt together, she wrenches the panel off and scrambles inside just before the emergency system kicks in to close the vent again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s all sort of a blur for a few seconds, and then she’s flat on her back on the floor of Odin’s cabin. Loki is standing over her, looking confused in mostly just the regular way thanks to the residue of Sigyn’s near-death experience.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you just do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh.” She gestures vaguely out the window. “You know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki huffs disbelievingly and drops down to nearly crush her in a hug. “You could have </span>
  <em>
    <span>died</span>
  </em>
  <span> pulling that stunt. I’m supposed to be the reckless idiot in this relationship, remember?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn shakes her head, still trying to get her breath back. “Needed to get to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t ever do that again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t if I wanted to, so no need to worry. About that specifically, at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At something of a loss for words, Loki just steals a quick kiss and helps her up. “Okay. You’re here now, however </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span> the way you chose to make that happen was. How are we getting out?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor knows he can’t evade Odin forever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible</span>
  </em>
  <span> at sneaking around, but he certainly isn’t as good at it as Sigyn. And Odin, now that she’s actually turned her attention on him, is much better at tracking him down than the guards were. Whereas they were preoccupied with things like making sure the other passengers stayed calm, she seems to have stopped caring about everything other than the engine room. After all, if she has her way, nothing else will matter once the train arrives in Midgard. She doesn’t even bother trying to explain herself or quiet the frightened chaos she’s stirring up wherever she goes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That, at least, can be used to Thor’s advantage. It’s not easy to get away from her for very long before he needs to make yet another quick escape, but he manages it long enough to get in some explanations of his own. In particular, he tries for a moment alone with someone he feels he can trust, at least as far as anyone high up in the Asgardian government can be trusted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take this,” he says, pressing the recording device he’s been carrying around into Tyr’s hand. “Watch it somewhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>private.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It will explain all of this, I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that’s when Thor’s luck runs out. Odin storms into the compartment, and the only thing stopping him from being caught then and there is a half second of time to hide rather badly behind the furniture. He’s sure Odin will see him as soon as she turns around, but first, she angrily confiscates the recording device. Which is not the end of the world- they can still work with that, it just requires a little more effort. And time, something they’re steadily running out of at this point- but it’s fine. What’s not so fine is when she turns on her heel, looking furious and muttering something about not risking any more interference, and starts striding toward the front of the train.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor curses and tells Sigyn as briefly as he can what just happened. They’ve pushed Odin too far, it seems, and if they don’t act fast to divert her attention, all their efforts are going to be for nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Back in Odin’s cabin, Sigyn takes a deep breath and nods. “Right. Okay, I’ve got something. She has no logical reason to derail the train early, she, she’s just </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You’ve been running her in circles, she’s got nothing else to take it out on, so she wants to skip to the part where she wins. We just need to give her something else… or </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope you aren’t about to tell me to run after her and turn myself in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no. We need </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> to pull off the rest of the plan.” She hesitates briefly, but finally finishes the thought. “I’m going to give her </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki doesn’t like it, she can tell, but it’s not as if they have any other choice, so she doesn’t protest. They can’t stand around arguing about better solutions when they have so little time to stop Odin from ruining everything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And so, not half a minute later, the guard at the door of Odin’s cabin calls her with an urgent report that he’s heard suspicious sounds from inside, and voices that can’t possibly belong to her having some sort of tense conversation. Odin stops, almost at the door of the engine room, and considers her options. Of course she knows it must be Sigyn who’s broken in somehow to rescue her wife, but it’s not as if that will matter once she does what she came to do. On the other hand… well, if Sigyn is </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead,</span>
  </em>
  <span> or driven to madness by the glorious horrors that have for so long haunted Odin’s dreams, how will she ever </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> how truly hopeless all her acts of resistance are?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Odin thanks the guard for his diligence and starts heading back to the other end of the train. She’s waited this long already, and knows it won’t be much longer now. She might as well take the time that remains to enjoy the anticipation to its fullest: namely, by gloating over one of her most troublesome enemies about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Odin enters and shuts the door behind her, it’s quiet- not at all obvious that anyone is in the room but her. Which is a dead giveaway on its own, given that Loki was definitely there when she left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you’re here,” she says aloud. “Will you come out and be reasonable for once, or am I going to have to find you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence, for a few more seconds, and then Sigyn emerges. Her face is hard, and Loki trails behind her. She is conspicuously holding a knife.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine. You caught me. Let’s make this quick, shall we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I agree.” Odin turns toward the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah-” Sigyn holds up her free hand. “What do you think will be faster, you opening that door or me throwing this knife at your head?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turns back. She expected something like this, really- why else would Sigyn come out of hiding so easily? “What is it you want?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just one thing.” She takes a breath, still poised to strike if Odin changes her mind about listening. “Let Loki go. She clearly can’t do anything to you at this point, so just- leave her out of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have you both trapped already,” Odin points out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure. But no guarantee I’ll go quietly. Remember? Knife? And I’m sure there’s a lot in here you wouldn’t want someone breaking. So either this can be easy for both of us, or you can gamble on how much damage I can do before your guards get to me- all for someone who isn’t a threat to you anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stupid of her, Odin thinks, to be so sentimental. It’s not as if Loki can be any use to </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> little band of terrorists at this point, either. Maybe she’s trying to sneak something out of the room by hiding it on her person somewhere. Odin doesn’t particularly care, of course. Whatever Sigyn thinks she’s going to accomplish with this maneuver, no one will be reaching Midgard in a fit state to pull it off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it will end the headache you’ve been causing me any faster, then fine. You have a deal.” She crosses to the door and tells the guard on the other side to let Loki pass. Privately, she smiles in amusement- maybe she’ll wander into Thor, and the two remaining loose ends will take care of each other for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Getting Loki from the corridor outside Odin’s cabin to the engine room is a quick and dirty process, with little room for stealth. They just don’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>time</span>
  </em>
  <span> anymore- the train will be at the Midgard station in less than twenty-four hours. Thor makes sure nobody sees them break into the engine room itself, but there’s no chance at all people aren’t already talking about having seen them together. It’s better than what they would risk if they took their time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki snaps into focus as soon as the door is closed behind them. The engine room is not a pretty sight by this point- Kvasir is dead already, but the train isn’t quite finished sucking all it can from his corpse. Loki closes her eyes and takes a long, slow breath, in and out. Then she turns to Thor, all sharp determination.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t have time for what I planned. It’s here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor looks, and feels sick. The walls pulse with the colours of the Bifrost, growing more vibrant by the minute. He can taste them in the air itself, thick and choking, an oil-slick smog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re too late, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes flash. “No. I have an idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki…” He knows that tone. He does not like that tone. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span> of an idea is it, exactly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, on a scale of one to everyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>dying,</span>
  </em>
  <span> cosmically and horribly?” She shrugs, turning to examine the writing on the walls. “Don’t think it could possibly make anything any </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What are you doing?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks over her shoulder at him and grins. “I’m gonna try a reverse Utgardian drinking game.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn speaks up immediately over the comms, a low hiss to avoid Odin’s suspicion. “Absolutely not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Am I missing something here? What’s that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea that is </span>
  <em>
    <span>going to get her killed,</span>
  </em>
  <span> do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> let her try it-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You remember that pub crawl we did in Jotunheim years ago?” Loki is tapping at things on the walls now, cheerful verging on manic. “Where you ended up blackout drunk?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor blinks at her. “Think about what you just described, and tell me why you’re even asking if I remember any of it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, right. Well, the owner of this one place liked to make bets with people that they couldn’t drain his largest glass in one go- turned out it was a trick, the thing was connected to something under the bar so it was impossible to actually empty it, but you got, like, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> intense about it and made yourself sick and he told us to leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He frowns- that does sound kind of familiar. “…Wait. Are you sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> why we got kicked out? Because I seem to recall you setting a table on fire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were drunk,” she says quickly. “You don’t remember anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Doesn’t matter,” Sigyn cuts in before the argument can start. “Point is, it’s also our term for… basically, tricking someone into taking on more than they can handle, though it’s usually more complicated than that. But, reversing it…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki doesn’t look up from the colours flashing under her hands as she fills in the end of the sentence. “Means getting someone to give </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> what they think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> can’t handle. In this case, the eldritch forces which are going to tear our reality to shreds!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, except you actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> handle that- Thor, you have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop her, now.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I- I don’t think I can.” There’s energy swirling around Loki already, and it repels him when he tries to reach her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to be fine, love, I’ve got this. I’m handling my part of the plan, you just worry about yours, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sigyn takes a deep breath. “Fine. Fine, just… don’t die.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll do my best.” She winks at Thor and tosses something to him- an engineer’s hammer, faintly glowing from its time in her vicinity. “You’ll be needing that, but wait for my signal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s the last thing Sigyn hears from either of them before the comms are overtaken by eldritch static. She swears quietly under her breath, but there’s nothing she can do about it now. She has Odin to deal with, making sure she’s busy enough gloating over her supposed victory that she doesn’t notice what will </span>
  <em>
    <span>hopefully</span>
  </em>
  <span> be a distinct absence of reality tearing itself apart. If she leaves her cabin and realizes it’s past time for the chaos to start, everything could still go wrong. Sigyn can’t risk the distraction of worrying about anything else now. She’ll just have to trust Loki and Thor to know what they’re doing.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the final chapter is probably gonna be Long and take A Long Time to write but hey we're almost to the end!! isn't this exciting :D</p>
<p>please appreciate my myth jokes i think i'm hilarious</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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